Musical Structure
The song is in the key of D and begins with a I-IV-V7-I-IV-V7-I chord progression: thus "You know" involves F#-D# melody notes against a I (D chord). A point of interest is the raised A melody note against a D/F# chord on "name", "three" and "name". A significant moment is the substitution of a #IVdim chord (G#dim) for the more standard II7 as part of the progression to V7 (A7 chord on "You know my name") and I (D chord after "number") that closes the verse. The song is also notable for use of the 5th chord tone on the VII chord to produce extra dissonance.
Read more about this topic: You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
Famous quotes containing the words musical and/or structure:
“I think no woman I have had ever gave me so sweet a moment, or at so light a price, as the moment I owe to a newly heard musical phrase.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)
“I’m a Sunday School teacher, and I’ve always known that the structure of law is founded on the Christian ethic that you shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself—a very high and perfect standard. We all know the fallibility of man, and the contentions in society, as described by Reinhold Niebuhr and many others, don’t permit us to achieve perfection.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)